Bears Blitz

Published by Bryan Dietzler on September 29, 2010
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

Another game, another win for the Bears. 

The Bears are the only undefeated team remaining in the NFC after week three and they looked decent against the Packers but still have some work to do. 

The Bears are starting to develop a really strong team on both sides of the ball and they are much better than anyone is giving them credit for.

So now, let’s take a look at ten things that we learned about the Bears in their Monday night football game against the Packers at home in Solider Field.

The Bears can run they just won’t

The Bears used to have a solid and consistent running game (for years) and now it seems as if they are abandoning it at the drop of hat.  They started out trying to run the ball a little bit against the Packers but once they fell behind by a touchdown, they immediately went to the air and stayed there almost the entire game.  When they did run the ball, they actually ran it well. 

The Bears will find that they need to run the ball more often to be much more successful and the only way they may find out that they need the run is to lose a game.

Hester’s Back!

It’s about time! 

Devin Hester finally returned a punt for a touchdown after having a two-plus year drought.  There had been some calling for him to be removed off of the return teams because of his penchant for not wanting to go north or south (he would go east and west instead) but no one will be talking like that now. 

Hester will stay on punt returns and hopefully he will be able to repeat what he did several times this season.

The Dark Side of Special Teams

While Hester’s punt return is definitely a plus, the coverage units, particularly those on kickoffs, are having their problems. 

You could see that the Packers were able to gain some significant yardage on a few of their returns, and had it not been for some Green Bay penalties, the Packers would have ended up with good field position. 

After having already given up a punt return for touchdown this season, are the coverage units poised to do it again?

Kevin Shaffer is Better than Advertised

Offensive tackle Kevin Shaffer did a pretty decent job against the Packers on Monday night and was really one of the unsung heroes of the game.  He kept his assignments and didn’t allow anyone to move through him and get to quarterback Jay Cutler which was very important in the passing game on Monday night. 

Hopefully, he can continue to play like this as long as the Bears need him on the field.

The Bears didn’t miss Tommie Harris

Harris was a game-time scratch and his being named to the inactive list had nothing to do with injury.  Instead, it was a performance issue and the Bears were clearly trying to send a message to Harris stating that if his performance doesn’t get better, he won’t be on the field. 

Harris is said to be very upset with the decision so let’s hope that the Bears plan worked and that Harris is now motivated enough to play much better on the field, help his team and earn some of the money that he is making.

The Coaching Staff is one of the Best in the NFL

This is a very true statement. 

After being forced to make an adjustment on their offensive line the previous week, which worked out very well, the Bears coaching staff continued to make adjustments during the Green Bay game that helped them out. 

The decision to sit Harris was a good one as was the decision to sit corner back Zachary Bowman after he suffered in run support. 

His replacement, Tim Jennings, had six tackles and recovered the fumble that Brian Urlacher caused to help the Bears win the game.

What’s up with Bowman?
Speaking of Bowman being taken out of the game, the call worked well for the coaching staff and the team but the question that comes up now is will Bowman be back in the lineup. 

While Jennings was productive against the run and can cover, he is undersized and not as physical as Bowman so they expect Bowman to be back in the lineup next week against the Giants.  His benching was another move by the coaching staff to send a message that if you don’t play well, you are going to be benched and hopefully it will work.

Good as Gould?

Through the preseason and through the first part of the year, kicker Robbie Gould has either missed field goals or just barely made them in some instances. 

So what is wrong with him? 

Is it the Bears special teams overall?  Is it something mental?  Is he losing his touch? 

It’s important that Gould be on target because the Bears offense will need every chance to score that it possibly can.  Hopefully we don’t see too many miscues by one of the most accurate kickers in NFL history.

Cutler’s Improvisation

It appeared as if Cutler fought off the urge to try to improvise when things were going wrong at the start of the game even though he did throw an interception, and could have had more had penalties not been called on the others.  He did take off and run and that did help the offense out and helped keep drives going. 

Cutler has learned to be much more patient and let things develop and then, if nothing is there, not force the ball or do something drastic.  He’s definitely getting better at undoing what he did last year.

There is still room for improvement

There is always going to be room for improvement no matter if a team is winning or losing, and there is room for improvement on this Bears team. 

They need to improve their running game, their pass rush and their special teams play, but there are many good things going on with this team as well. 

Some of those good things include: being able to stop the run, getting the ball down the field well on passing plays and, of course, being able to return punts for touchdowns. 

With mistakes corrected, the Bears will be a constantly evolving team and could end up being one of the best in the NFL when it’s all said and done.

For an in depth review of the game please click here.  For a detailed blog of the game please click here. 

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